1. Integrate into the community. According to Laura
Sonderup of Heinrich Hispanidad, “The first step is
to identify what subsegments of the community
offer the best opportunity.” Joining a local Hispanic
chamber of commerce provides speakers the
opportunity to meet Hispanic businesspeople and
find out what their interests are. The same goes for
church, community or academic groups.
2. Extend your worth, then your invoice. “Don't try to
sell your information right away,” says technology
expert Ariel Coro. “First, give something away for free
to establish your value.” Sonderup agrees: “Offering
to speak at local organizations’ functions, at no
charge initially, can be a terrific way to develop
some recognition within the Hispanic community.”
She adds that some community events and panel
discussions are covered by media, which help to
boost a speaker’s profile.
3. Create a bilingual presence. Coro suggests you
send your media kit to local Hispanic TV and radio stations. “They need experts in many subjects and often
the ones that speak Spanish are not available. If this is
the case, they'll happily find a translator for you.”
4. Get discovered through translation. At the same
time, he stresses the importance for non-Spanish
speakers to have their promotional content translated. “It's inexpensive these days and you can
publish it in Spanish-language Web sites and magazines. Make sure that the translations are not literal
but integrated, since many times literal translations
fail miserably to make your point.”
5. Click into the culture. Don’t neglect the Internet as a
vital research tool. Among the Latino sites that
Coro recommends are www.latino.aol.com, www.
telemundo.yahoo.com, and www.terra.com. For
information about Hispanics, he suggests www. ushcc.com, www.hispaniconline.com, www.marketing ymedios.com and www.hispanictips.com.
6. Make some amigos. Coro adds that for people
who have no knowledge of Spanish and no connection whatsoever to Hispanic markets, it’s important to “partner with somebody that is established in
that market. They may be able to assist you with the
cultural nuances.”
He highly recommends that speakers try to appear on television as
part of their multi-cultural marketing efforts. “Even if you go on TV and
talk about something besides your speaking topics, TV gives you an
aura of credibility in the Hispanic or the general market.” Given the
popularity of Spanish TV in America—Univision is now the fifth largest
network in the United States, behind ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox—chances
are the time spent on air will, at the very least, get you noticed.
Examining the Differences
To effectively gain Hispanic consumers, you also need to do homework, says Yehudit Mam, a Mexican freelance creative consultant
who worked for more than 10 years at the Bravo Group, the largest
Hispanic ad agency in the United States. She has devised ad campaigns for, among others, Miller Brewing Co., Kraft Foods, the U.S.
Army, McDonald's and Lincoln Mercury. “The more you know, the
better,” she says. “The research is out there.”
To identify the diversity and uniqueness of Hispanics in any given
area, Mam recommends that speakers obtain Census Bureau
information, marketing studies and media ratings that can provide
detailed insight into Hispanic lifestyles, trends and buying habits.
“There are all sorts of studies available about the power and reach
of this market.”
For people with small businesses—like many speakers—both
Coro and Mam suggest that the basic strategy should begin on a
grassroots level where relationships are best built with Hispanics,
such as at smaller, local venues that educate or tackle community
issues like education, health or immigration. Hispanic church
groups, community-based political organizations and business
associations, as well as university student and teacher groups are
great targets. “First, you have to ask yourself, ‘What is my area of
expertise and does it fit into this market?’ ” Coro recommends.
Tuning into the Spanish Network
Another way to gain the attention of Hispanic consumers is to use
local Spanish media, including television, print and the Internet as
part of your promotion package. Coro suggests that the latter is
widely overlooked. Seventy percent of Hispanics between the age
of 18 and 34 are Web-connected, he says. “It’s a golden-goose
type of market. Eighty percent of Hispanics that use the net are English speakers. They are as connected as the Americans, but they
are not necessarily going to the same sites.”
If you don’t speak Spanish you’re at a disadvantage, but not an
insurmountable one. According to research by Laura Sonderup,
director of Heinrich Hispanidad, a marketing and advertising
agency in Denver, while half of U.S. Hispanics who watch TV are
watching Spanish-language programming, 40 percent also watch
in English. Consultant Mam says, “If someone who doesn’t speak
Spanish does the research, is willing to listen, is open to nuances,
and doesn’t try to impose his preconceived notions on Hispanics,
there is no reason why he should have a credibility problem.”
